


Gone

by AverageAtBest123



Series: Short Stories [6]
Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Quite Unrealistic, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:08:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27785023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AverageAtBest123/pseuds/AverageAtBest123
Summary: Starts at the end of S2
Relationships: Otis Milburn/Maeve Wiley
Series: Short Stories [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998715
Comments: 26
Kudos: 38





	1. Planning and Starting

**Author's Note:**

> Wasn't planning on writing today but I got bored so I decided to😅
> 
> Hope this is worth the read and apologies if you were expecting something realistic🤔😉
> 
> And also this was half inspired by the Netflix show ‘Elite’, when I watched it I noticed a couple similarities between that show and Sex Education so I recommend that if you’re looking for shows to watch!

Otis lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling nearly drifting off into a sleep at such a late time at night. He had arrived home disappointed that Maeve wasn’t home but there was nothing he could do about that. He thought about waiting, but went against it as it may seem a little bit odd if he was just perching himself on her doorstep waiting for her. He had wanted to get an answer out of her, specifically about the voicemail and he knew her silence would be everything that he wouldn’t want to happen. The more he thought about it, the more the nerves came that she would reject him entirely, not just as something more than friends. He felt pride that he had finally confessed his love, but he was scared shitless of her reaction and the decision to sleep it off was the best he could think of right now. 

He awoke the next morning on time, and the first thing he did was check his phone hoping for the best. Of course, he hadn't received any notifications from Maeve, no messages, no missed calls. Nothing. He was shattered, and sunk immediately. His only thought was that she had abandoned him, and the only thing that got him out of bed that morning was the hope that she would want to deal with him in person rather than over a text or a call. He carried on his morning as usual, avoiding the inappropriate questions from Jean and biking to school with Eric. Once they arrived at school, the normal routine of locking their bikes up and entering the huge building to travel to their lockers returned - except Otis was especially cautious.

“What is off with you today? You’re like a nervous wreck.” Eric laughed.

“That’s cos I am.” Otis replied, starting to break a sweat. He wouldn’t be able to hear her telling him to fuck off and actually meaning it, that would break his heart.

“Why? What did you do?” Eric stopped and Otis opened his locker as they had arrived now.

“I don’t… I’m not sure I can say to be honest.” Otis said, wiping his forehead and heating up. Were all the radiators on the max setting or what?

“Whatever it is it’s eating you up man, I’m worried for you.” Eric looked at him with concern and as if he was trying to decipher Otis’ thoughts.

“Ugh, yeah thanks.” Otis wasn’t really thinking straight right now. He looked behind him and saw that Maeve was at her locker. She really didn’t look like she was in the mood for anything, and Otis hated that she was this way at the moment and felt it was all his fault.

“Oh, I see.” Eric said, noticing straight away who Otis was staring at. “I’ll go to class, go and speak to her.”

“No!” Otis shouted in a loud whisper. “I can’t, I can’t!”

“Yes you can.” Eric was much louder than Otis, but he was louder normally anyway so that didn’t really change. 

“I’m coming to class with you.” Otis started walking away but Eric stopped him.

“No no no, you won’t forgive yourself Otis!” Eric was loudly whispering now. Otis just stood there switching glances between Eric and Maeve, who still failed to notice her crush and his best friend.

“It’s too difficult.” Otis looked at the ground, ashamed.

“Ok, here. I’ll help you.” Eric smiled at him, and Otis nodded to show that he was okay with that.

Eric looked at Maeve, but didn’t walk over to her at all to try and get her to speak with Otis, instead he shouted “Maeve!!” and quickly ran away so that the only two people in that corridor at that moment were Otis and Maeve.

“Eric!” Otis hissed as his best friend continued to run. Once Eric was out of sight, he shut his eyes and turned to face Maeve and he opened them in her direction.

She was staring at him, that should’ve been obvious, and she had a mean expression on her face and Otis immediately felt intimidated by it even if he knew that she had just put the walls up to defend herself, but he couldn’t blame her. He gradually got closer to her whilst staring at the floor, and she watched him all the way until he got close and started to look at her to which she looked back at her locker and the items it contained.

“Maeve, I’m sorry.” Otis began, and Maeve didn’t say anything. “If I could take back the last month or two, I would without a second thought.”

Again Maeve ignored him and carried on sorting out her textbooks. The 5 year diary Otis gave her fell from her grasp as she tried to take it out and it was on the floor so that Otis could see what she had just dropped. She quickly leant over and stuffed it in her bag - still not looking at him - and propped up the last of the books she had in her locker so that they were in a neat line.

“I thought you would’ve got rid of that, you said you hated presents.” Otis half-smiled at her, but she looked at him for a second as she turned round and started to walk off.

“I’m really sorry Maeve! Just please let me try and make this better.” Otis said, with clear desperation in his voice which made Maeve stop, but she didn’t turn around.

“I get that I messed up, I know I did, really badly. I was drunk, nothing I did that night ever meant anything. I just want to make the situation between us better, no matter if we are or aren’t friends.”

Maeve turned around and finally they made eye contact for more than a few seconds. Otis was expecting a response which is why he fell silent but realised soon enough that he would have to continue speaking in order to get one from her. 

“Everything I said on that voicemail was true. Everything. I get why you’re angry or disappointed or whatever, but please recognise I was being truthful in that voicemail, not my speech.” Otis almost silently pleaded with her to forgive him, but of course that wasn’t going to work right now.

“What voicemail.” Maeve said, the same way she had told him that she wasn’t angry with him. Like she couldn’t be bothered to have this conversation right now.

“You know which voicemail I’m on about.” Otis was closing his eyes now and looking at the floor.

“I don’t think I do.” Maeve repeated the same tone she used earlier. She pulled out her phone and placed it to her ear to check her inbox but there wasn’t anything in there. “Nothing, you’re just lying again.”

“Are you sure?” Otis said, really worried. He definitely sent it, could he have sent it to someone else by mistake?

Maeve called her voicemail again, but this time on speaker. She watched Otis face as it played, and when it said that there wasn’t anything new in there he looked like he was about to break down. He couldn’t believe that she hadn't heard it. He looked at her again and her facial expression hadn't changed from that exhausted one.

“And you didn’t listen to it yesterday?” Otis said, fighting back some tears. Her cold and distant attitude made sense now.

Maeve just shook her head and started walking off, clearly going to class.

“Do you want to hear what I said in it, at least?” Otis walked after her but not too closely.

“I don’t care right now.” Maeve spoke quite harshly and Otis stopped chasing after her.

“You don’t even have the decency to hear what it said. Are we that far gone?” Otis called after her but she kept going and eventually turned the corner so Otis was left alone in the middle of the corridor. He scoffed and turned around walking to his next class, struggling to believe that after all he did for her while they were friends she wouldn’t allow him to try and apologise. 

In class he didn’t pay much attention. He was focused on thinking about ways he could speak to Maeve and for her to actually listen to him and what he had to tell her. Eric was right when he said that he would never forgive himself, and he kept thinking to himself that he had to tell Maeve what was in the voicemail, whether that be through himself or through someone like Aimee who could pass something onto her. Eventually though, he focused back on his class and would think of what to do later.

The rest of school was bland, dull, grey and melancholy. During lunch Otis wasn’t in the mood for anything and Eric had tried his best to cheer him up but to no avail. Eric knew that the talk he had setup for Otis with Maeve had gone wrong, and he did feel a little bit guilty about that, but Otis refused to tell him what had happened. After a short while of pestering he gave up and allowed Otis to be sad on his own before they went their separate ways again. Yet again, Otis saw Maeve in the corridor and they were passing each other going the opposite direction. This time, it was Otis giving the cold and mean look to Maeve. She tried to return it, but something prevented her from doing it. Instead she just looked surprised and a little bit hurt at what he was doing, finally understanding what he had felt earlier when she had done it to him and now she realised that the least she could’ve done was hear what he had to say. She stopped as he passed her and put a hand on his shoulder which turned him round.

“What did the voicemail say?” Maeve said, still not being nice but neither was she cold.

“I thought you didn’t really care.” Otis said, turning back round and walking off. Just like Otis had done earlier, she followed him.

“I wasn’t thinking straight.” She said, actually catching up to him.

“Go to class, Maeve.” Otis wasn’t letting go of the harshness and coldness that he had received from Maeve earlier that day, and it was unusual for him to be like this which made her feel accountable. She let him go though, and wondered if she should be the one to apologise briefly when she next saw him. He had already apologised earlier, but he did need to prove that he was sorry, and that voice told her to let him come to her - and gullibly, she listened to it.

At the end of the day, Otis knew how to test whether Maeve actually cared about him or what he had to say to her since he knew she wouldn’t say it to him because of her walls protecting her and her real emotions. There was a problem with Otis’ plan, and that was because to make it work he had to deceive everyone he knew, and everyone who knew him, including his mother. The more he thought about the plan, the more he thought that he could use it to test how much his close ones actually cared about him and his well being. He never once wondered about if it was going to be too far, or too unethical because sometimes a test that is socially sensitive must be carried out in order to achieve real results. He used this belief to his advantage, and planned it out that evening, ready to carry it out the next day. The plan took about 4 hours, as once he knew the basics and the necessities it was quite easy to figure out the next stages and how to keep everything a secret, but those did need a bit of time to sort out.

He went asleep, double checking that he definitely did want to do what he had set out to do and came to the conclusion that he did. He was no longer that guy in the corner, and had seen this sort of stuff in movies so he figured why not try it. He did like how he would be able to watch from afar but they wouldn’t be able to see him. It gave him an understanding of what they were like when he wouldn’t be there to see how different they are, and indeed how they acted about his plan - which of course they wouldn’t know is just a setup.

The end of the next school day had come, and the plan had been put on hold for Otis ‘last day’ at school. He had moved everything he needed early in the morning, way before his mother woke up so she wouldn’t suspect a thing. He returned home after school and got dressed into clothes he wouldn’t normally wear and went back downstairs with a backpack on ready to put the plan into action. Jean spotted him out the corner of her eye when he was on the stairs.

“Oh, hello darling.” Jean said, looking up at him from the sofa.

“Hi mum.” Otis said, starting to think if the plan was a bad idea now. 

“You look a bit different.” Jean viewed her son up and down.

“Yeah, I’m going to Eric’s.” Otis lied, walking towards the front door. He didn’t want to give anything away.

“Tell him I said hi!” Jean called from the living room.

“I will!” Otis said, as he closed the door, then locking it with his key.

He wasn’t going to Eric’s. In fact, he was going to the local forest as he had already set up a tent there and that’s where he would be staying the night. And the next night. And the one after that. He planned to stay in the tent until he was caught or found out, and he wouldn’t show up at home or at school to put on the effect that he went missing. He had a pair of binoculars, money, lots of food in his backpack as he made his way to the tent to drop them there, where he had already put his clothes inside. The plan was to scout over certain areas, or even go and roam around with a hood up and a cap so that he would be unidentifiable. He wanted to view how they acted from a distance, and how they spoke when he was close. It was extreme, and very irrational thinking but Otis went through with it and thought it was a good plan to see who cared and who didn’t.

As his close ones knew, Otis was very stubborn, and even if someone knew about him doing this they wouldn’t be able to change his mind. The first night Jean didn’t think anything of it and just assumed that he slept at Eric’s but when she phoned him the next morning, she could hear Otis’ ringtone going off upstairs and went up to check if he had made it home without her knowing, but when his phone was on his bed which was neatly made, she knew something was wrong. When she was able to open the bathroom door she started panicking.

Eric ringing the doorbell ready to cycle to school with Otis just confirmed Jean’s doubts and she opened the door with tears streaming down her face, and the normally cheerful Eric soon became worried and sad.

“What’s wrong Jean?” Eric put a hand on her shoulder.

“Otis.” Jean looked down and put a hand over her eyes.

“What’s he done?” Eric decided to give her a hug.

“He didn’t come home after he went to yours.” Jean thought he had been killed, or kidnapped or everything bad that could have possibly happened to Otis.

“He went to mine?” Eric said, genuinely surprised. He knew this was bad news.

“Oh no.” Jean was shell shocked. Locking herself in the house seemed the only viable option.

“I’ll see if he’s at school Jean, I’ll tell you if he is!” Eric shouted as he walked up the stairs to his bike. He really wanted to console Jean, but he wanted to find Otis to make sure he was okay which would also make Jean okay.

Eric searched school before the classes started, but of course he couldn’t find Otis anywhere and was dreading that anything bad had happened to him. He approached the corridor with their lockers for the third time that morning expecting Otis to be there, but yet again he wasn’t and so he had no choice but to continue with his day, he could always continue the search after school and he was determined to find his best friend. Maeve had now gone to her locker, and she looked over expecting to see Otis staring at her but she only saw Eric looking sad. She was more intrigued at where Otis was rather than trying to apologise to him and hoping he would apologise. She made her way to Eric and when he noticed her he put on a short and weak smile as he greeted her.

“Hi…” Eric said, leaning on the locker with his hand.

“What’s wrong?” Maeve asked, knowing the answer would be Otis’ related.

“Otis.” Eric wasn’t really wanting to say much.

“Where is he?” Maeve’s curiosity was very obvious, but now she saw Eric’s reaction to him she felt bad for him and for Otis. It was clearly something very serious

“No one knows.” Eric said. He put his hands on his hips, stopped leaning on the lockers and looked up at the ceiling.

Maeve was gobsmacked, and looked at him with her mouth hanging open.

“You mean… he’s… he’s gone-” Maeve began slowly, she sounded a bit hurt and worried. Eric cut her off as she took her time.

“Missing...”


	2. A Glimmer of Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm loving writing this right now, it's very entertaining so I hope it's the same for you guys when you read it!

Once Eric confirmed her suspicions, her mouth fell to the floor and she looked as worried as Jean had done, and unsurprisingly so too. She froze and only moved when Eric prompted her, but Otis’ disappearance definitely came as a shock. Why wouldn’t it?

“Did you see him at all yesterday?” Eric asked, with anticipation.

Maeve couldn't speak, so she just shook her head to indicate that she hadn’t seen him. Obviously, she had done, but that was only at school when everyone else had spotted him too. Eric’s face fell immediately when she responded, and he shut his eyes and looked to the ground threatening to tear up.

“Can… Can you help me find him later at least?” Eric looked up momentarily to see her reply.

“Yeah, definitely.” Maeve said, not knowing whether she should leave now.

“Thanks.” Eric whispered and moved forward to hug her. He needed a brief cry.

Maeve offered her shoulder and let him cry whilst hugging him back, and seeing Eric like this was horrible. She also shut her eyes now, hoping that she wouldn’t cry too. Even if her and Otis weren’t in a particularly good place, she still loved and cared about him along with that meant she cared about the people he cared about. 

Soon after, Eric was okay and he ventured in the direction of his next lesson and Maeve did the same. Otis was constantly on her mind, wondering where he was, what he was doing, and crucially if he was still alive. Anything could’ve happened to him, and as much as Maeve tried to be hopeful the pessimistic side of her always crept back up into situations like this and she kept fearing the worst. She attempted to carry on with her work, but she just couldn’t so she sat there thinking and thinking until it was time for breaktime.

A couple of hours later at lunch, Otis had made his way into school grounds and was blending in with the other students in a way, not like his usual self at all though. He acted like he was really unhappy and he had a different bag on, a baggy hoodie with the hood up that covered his head and tracksuit bottoms which made him look like you’d get in trouble with him if you tried to talk to him. This appearance deterred everyone, and people didn’t even want to know who he was. He strolled past, planning to sit down near the wall where he usually hung out with Eric or Maeve but as he turned the corner, looking up just enough to see what was ahead of him, Eric was standing there seemingly panicking.

Otis quickly hid behind the corner again, fearing that he had been seen. He waited a few moments to check and now he was the one seemingly panicking. He couldn’t let his plan up this easily, but at the same time he needed to get past. His disguise had worked so far, so he trusted it to work against someone who knew him more than a lot of people did, so he turned the corner and went for it again.

He walked closer, changing his gait so it wouldn’t be recognisable, and gradually got past Eric. He could hear that Eric was sad, and he hated that he had caused it, but he needed to in order for his plan to work out. At least he now knew that Eric cared for him, not that he doubted him, but it was a test nonetheless. Otis walked about 20 short steps past Eric and sat on the wall opposite, quite closer compared to where Liam sat all those months ago. He wasn’t exactly close but neither far, and patiently waited to see if anything would happen.

He pulled his different bag and propped it next to him and took out a textbook that he would have out in front of him, but of course he wasn’t going to read it. Today was the day that Jean usually went shopping to get the food that she shared with Otis for the week, and before lunch had occurred he snuck back to the house and sure enough Jean was out getting the food. He took advantage of this and using the key had opened up and took numerous things, which included a little bit more food, the clinic money he had kept for months, and that textbook which he had out in front of him. He knew he couldn’t take much as that would be suspicious so he took what was necessary - including some earphones in case the people he was spying on were quiet - before he made his way to school, where he was now executing his plan.

Otis briefly looked up at Eric, and he had slumped down to sit on the floor now. He still felt terrible that he was doing this, but his thoughts discontinued when he heard a couple people walking past him and he very quickly looked back down. He could see their shoes and the bottom of their legs as they walked past, and he was fast in understanding who the two people were. One wore fishnets and boots, the same ones as Maeve always wore so it was obvious it was her. The figure next to her wore jeans, but since Maeve only had one proper friend right now he knew it was Aimee. They walked past him without suspecting a thing, to the relief of Otis and they stopped next to Eric.

“Has it got worse?” Maeve asked, not really sure what she was expecting from him. The question was quite vague.

“Haven’t heard anything. I just feel guilty, I don’t know why. Like I should’ve been there for him and he wouldn’t be gone.” Eric started sobbing again, and instinctively Aimee sat down and put an arm around him so he could lean on her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault.” Maeve said, looking down. “It’s mine.”

“Not possible.” Eric said, wiping away some tears.

“Eric, it was me.” Maeve looked at him and he tried to look back, but couldn’t so he just looked down again. Aimee was now rubbing the back of his shoulder for comfort. 

Otis was listening in and could already tell that they were talking about him, to which he was relieved by. His worst fear was that they wouldn’t talk or seem sad, but he couldn’t stop reminding himself of the guilt he faced whenever he heard them crying or speaking with an upset tone. He noticed that they had started to speak a little bit quieter, having spotted him so he pulled out those headphones he picked up and faked the action of putting them into a phone and his ears, instead putting the jack in his pocket and the earphones around his ear so that they dangled off. Of course, to everyone else, it did indeed look like he was listening to music and the effect worked as he could hear the trio again.

“See, it’s my fault.” Maeve said, sounding regretful and she was observably at the same extent of upsetness that Eric had reached. Otis noticed that she had just finished explaining something but was a little annoyed that he hadn’t heard it all.

“I’m not letting you take all the blame.” Eric wasn’t crying anymore but was still unsettled. 

“Ok.” was all Maeve replied with.

“Can you help us find him later?” Eric looked at Aimee.

“I already agreed when Maeve asked me to.” Aimee half-smiled, Eric returned it. He was thankful he would be getting support.

“Come on, you need to sort yourself out.” Maeve grabbed his hand and Aimee held the other so Eric could be pulled to his feet.

They began walking past Otis again, and he had one thing he needed to do just before they left and he waited for the opportunity which was fast approaching. He quickly grabbed a small piece of paper and carried on waiting. Maeve looked at him, but of course she didn’t know it was him and sort of scoffed for some reason before facing Eric again as they walked to the bathroom. Otis’ opportunity was now or never and he leant over slightly and popped the paper inside her bag, being careful not to knock her or her bag. He sat back in his previous position in case she noticed, but after a couple seconds he could hear that they had gone away. 

After that, he packed away all the stuff he got out to become a fake student and started heading back to his tent in the forest. It wasn’t too long of a journey, but since Otis didn’t have his bike with him it felt a little bit longer. Eventually, he got there and made sure to keep an eye on the time. He had everything he needed for the next few days at least, and that was more than enough time to get what he felt was required. He lay on the airbed that he had in the tent and sighed, eager for the time to go quickly so he could finally get some answers to the questions he had in his mind.

The trio back at school had just arrived at the bathrooms, and the two girls waited outside the male toilets as Eric cleared himself up. He looked a mess earlier with the amount of crying he had done, and he didn’t look like himself at all and that was abnormal. They hoped people wouldn’t suspect anything, as they didn’t want to scare people that Otis could be dead. Or to them, ‘sex kid’. 

“Are you still okay?” Aimee almost shouted which made Maeve jump a little, so she apologised in a whisper. “Sorry babes.”

“I’m fine!” They heard Eric shout back. The couple of doors separating them was blocking the sound a little bit.

“Okay, good!” Aimee shouted again. Maeve looked quite guilty and worried, clearly because of Otis’ mysterious vanishing and Aimee wanted to cheer him. “We’ll find him, don’t sweat it.”

“I just can’t stop thinking about him.” Maeve looked down and blocked her face so no one could see that she was trying to hold back tears.

“I know, but that’s not going to make it better. He can’t be too hard to find.” Aimee reassured her, stepping forwards to give her a hug. In fact Aimee hugged her so hard that the initial contact made Maeve’s bag fall off her shoulder.

“I’m sorry!” Aimee put a hand over her mouth, gasping and stepping back to the other side of the small corridor.

“Don’t worry Aimes.” Maeve laughed a small amount, but of course, she wasn’t really in the mood for joking and laughing. No one there really was.

Maeve leant down to pick up her back, but she noticed a folded piece of paper on top of everything in her bag. She definitely hadn't put it there, and she took it out slowly. Glancing over at Aimee, she turned the paper over and titled across it was the word ‘IMPORTANT’. Aimee looked at it too and furrowed her eyebrows which Maeve copied, fearing as to what it was.

“Open it.” Aimee demanded, quite harsh considering Aimee was normally concerning and spoke nicely to people.

“I don’t want to.” Maeve said, suddenly throwing the paper away. People would’ve trampled on it the way it was sat on the floor now.

“Maeve!” Aimee hissed and sprinted to the paper to pick it up again. Aimee opened it, and her face changed from normal, to confused, to shock and excitement. Maeve watched her expressions change, and immediately became interested in this piece of paper.

“Let me see.” Maeve said, snatching the paper off her best friend. She was gobsmacked at what was written down, but she was equally happy too.

_Maeve. Browns. Today. 4:30pm. I’m alive._

_Otis._

That was all that was written, but it gave Maeve so much hope and she allowed a smile to take over her face for once, and she sighed relief that her fears of him being gone forever weren’t true.

“Eric!” Maeve yelled, and Eric soon came rushing out of the bathroom, looking better but still not optimal. Maeve handed him the paper and Eric too smiled ferociously, finally imagining an opportunity of him being able to see his best friend again.

“I’m coming with you.” Eric stated, like it wasn’t up for argument.

“Me too.” Aimee said, proudly. 

They talked a bit more, and after a few minutes it was time to go to their final lessons of the day. One of the important conversations they had was how they would all meet up after school to see Otis and what they wanted to achieve to finally put things right with him - or so they thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No promises on when the next one is released but I'll try to get it out as soon as possible!


	3. Nearly Caught

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another chapter, I'm feeling generous😆

Maeve got home pretty much as soon as she could, eager to meet up with Otis with the message he had sent her using that piece of paper and after getting in touch with Aimee and Eric they all arranged to meet just outside Maeve’s caravan park as it was the closest to Brown’s. Maeve didn’t really want to tell Eric that she lived in a caravan, and she wouldn’t say anything about it unless he put two and two together and figured it out himself. Eventually, the time came and Maeve wandered outside her home and walked to the destination where they had told each other to meet up. When Maeve was near the place, she noticed Eric had already got there, evidently wanting to see Otis again. She smiled when he noticed her.

“Hey Maeve.” Eric said, smiling back.

“Hi.” Maeve said, a little soft and weak. “Do you know how long Aimee will be?”

“Nope, she hasn’t said anything.” Eric pulled out his phone just to check.

“Okay. I really hope Otis is alright.” Maeve began biting her fingernails.

“He reached out to you, he wants to tell you and us that he’s okay.” Eric reassured her, and himself in the process.

“Yeah… yeah.” Maeve nodded, and moments later Aimee was walking towards them.

“Hey guys!” Aimee called out as she continued to walk. She wasn’t close to them.

“Hey.” Eric returned the greeting, once she got closer. “Time to go?”

“Yep. I wonder what he’s going to say.” Aimee was very hopeful, as were the other two.

“Same, let’s go.” Maeve said, starting to walk off and the others followed suit.

Meanwhile, Otis had already set up his plan. He took his disguise again just in case he was spotted, and he placed another small piece of paper, very similar to the one he left Maeve earlier on in the day. He left it on the bench outside of the shop, and patiently waited behind one of the bushes with his binoculars at the ready. He could see the bench and the area outside the shop perfectly from where he was, but just in case he had to duck behind the bushes he had them to use. He glanced at his wrist which his watch was on, and it read 4:21pm so soon enough Maeve should be showing up. Of course, he was unaware that Maeve would have company.

Around 5 or so minutes later, Otis looked up through the bushes and saw not just Maeve, but Eric and Aimee too. He was happy that not only Maeve had turned up and that they really did care about him, since that was what these tests were all about. He watched on as they searched the area looking for any sign of him. Thankfully for him, he wasn’t spotted by them but they seemed to be worried that he hadn't stuck by his ‘on time is late’ phrase. 

“Otis?” They all called out his name, one after the other. It really hurt him to see them worrying about him, but he stayed strong with the challenge he set out for himself. His plan now was getting to the more important part, the one where it starts to come to a close.

“Otis, we won’t be angry with you. We just want to know you’re okay.” Eric almost shouted, but he received silence.

“We promise.” Maeve added, hopeful he would come out and speak to them. Once again, silence was the treatment and they looked like all hope had been sucked out of them. Apart from Aimee.

“He might just be late.” Aimee tried raising their spirits, and it looked like it had an impact on Eric and Maeve, yet it wasn’t substantial.

“He’s never late.” Maeve and Eric said at the same time, smiling briefly at each other with their synchronisation.

“There’s always hope.” Aimee responded and gestured towards the bench. “Sit down, we can wait for a bit.”

“Okay.” Maeve responded, and Eric just nodded in agreement. They got closer and Maeve spotted the same sort of paper that Otis had used earlier and immediately pointed it out.

“Oh my god…” Eric said, shocked. Aimee didn’t say anything, she just gently pushed Maeve to urge her to pick it up.

She looked at them both as she got close to the bench and sat down as she picked the paper up. Since the other message from Otis had been specifically for Maeve, they assumed it would be the same for this one so they respected that she should read it first - unlike the one earlier. Maeve glanced at them briefly, smiling a bit, and sighed before she opened the piece of paper to read the message on it.

_Maeve._

_I’m safe. No need to worry. You wanted to hear the voicemail, so here it is. As a transcript._

_Hey Maeve, I know you can’t answer this right now because I’m watching you on live TV. But I just wanted you to know how proud of you I am. And how unbelievably stupid I’ve been. You telling me you had feelings for me was all I wanted to hear, and I was so caught up in trying to do the right thing that I forgot what that actually is. And it’s you. It’s always been you._

_I love you, Maeve._

_I won’t be returning to school or home but I’m still in Moordale._

_Otis_

Maeve put down the piece of paper and started crying softly with her hands on her face. Aimee and Eric immediately came and sat next to her, consoling her but also really worried about what Otis’ could’ve written.

“What did he say?” Eric asked.

Maeve handed him the paper and accepted the hug that Aimee had just given her. Eric decided to read the message out loud so that Aimee could hear and she was just as shocked as he was. Eventually, Maeve stopped crying but Eric and Aimee were sad now that they had acknowledged the letter. More so at the fact that he said he wouldn’t be returning, but there was a small aspect of happiness within the trio that he said he loved Maeve. Less of Eric since he didn’t know whether Maeve felt the same about Otis, but Aimee and Maeve knew she loved him. 

“He loves you.” Aimee whispered, still hugging Maeve. She had calmed down now but some tears were still falling.

“But he’s not returning.” Maeve hardly got the words out.

“Then we should look for him. He said he was still in Moordale.” Eric said, quickly.

“Now?” Maeve said, wiping the last of her tears away. 

“If you want to, I’m going to no matter what.” Eric got up off the bench but didn’t walk away. “You don’t have to.”

“No, I…. I want to.” Maeve got up off the bench slowly and looked around once more to see if Otis was around.

“You seriously don’t have to.” Eric didn’t want to put any pressure on her.

“I know. You coming Aimes?” Maeve looked at her, and she smiled as she was third to stand up.

Otis watched the whole thing unfold, and something told him that there was a reason why Maeve reacted as she did when she read what he had written, but his main focus was on what they did next. He didn’t mean when he said he wouldn’t be returning, he just put that to see if that was a thing she would be happy or sad about, and evidently it was an upsetting feeling that she had when she saw it. He remained quiet, and waited for them to pass him as they began their search for him and once he assumed they had gone past he came out the bushes and began sneaking past the other way they were going. He put his hood up just before he stepped past the bush but as he got onto the path he tripped over a small log and fell to the ground.

“Ow, fuck!” Otis screamed, forgetting he had to be quiet. He looked up in the direction that the trio had walked and he could only just see underneath his hood but they were all looking at him from quite a distance away, and as soon as they realised it was him all three of them lit up in surprise and happiness.

“Otis!” They all shouted, going towards his direction. Otis got back up and sprinted off, and the other three tried catching up to him.

“Talk to us!” Eric screeched as he ran, but Otis didn’t listen and kept running.

“Otis, please!” Maeve called, running not too far behind them. Aimee was struggling to keep up with them so she focused on following them rather than talking.

Otis turned a corner into the forest that surrounded them and hid inside a large bush now rather than behind it and tried to get his breath back. Eric looked in the direction of where Otis ran a few seconds later as he appeared and looked into the forest but couldn’t see him anywhere, and he was soon joined by Maeve and Aimee. All three of them also had to get their breath back.

“He went this way, he can’t have gone far.” Eric began walking through the woods.

Maeve looked at Aimee momentarily, to see if she would follow and when she did, they quickly caught up to Eric. Otis watched as they went past him and he sighed a sigh of relief and once he knew they were gone he came out again and started the trek back to his tent. 

“Where could he be staying?” Maeve asked, catching up to Eric.

“Anywhere.” Eric replied, unsure of what she meant.

“I meant his hospitality.” Maeve thought Eric was joking.

“Um I don’t know.” Eric said, trying to think. “Ooh! He’s been camping before so he has tents, I would look for those.”

“Right, okay, tent.” Maeve whispered to herself to make a mental note.

“What are we looking for?” Aimee asked. She was more focused on looking left and right than listening to the other two.

“A tent.” Maeve stated, quite quickly too.

They walked for about 10 minutes, not finding anything that would hint at where Otis could be - until they came across a small navy blue tent that was positioned in a small place in between a few trees, but it wasn’t too far away from a nearby road. 

“That’s it!” Eric shouted with glee and started running towards the tent. Maeve looked over and noticed it, chasing after Eric immediately with Aimee a little bit further behind. This seemed to be the fashion with these three.

“Wait!” Aimee yelled which caused the other two to stop. She spoke again once she caught up. “What if it’s not?”

“I’m telling you that’s it!” Eric said, almost annoyed that she didn’t believe him.

“Let’s have a look.” Maeve said, facing the tent and walking closer to the tent.

“Maeve, be careful.” Aimee said, also walking close now. Eric was a bit further behind but did slowly make his way to the two girls.

“I am.” Maeve whispered. “Hello?”

There was silence from the tent, but Maeve had to double check.

“Hello? Anyone in there?” 

Again, silence was the answer.

At this point, Otis had made his way back but as soon as he knew he was in proximity of seeing his tent he tried to look around him for any sign of anyone that could be watching him go to his tent. He walked a little bit closer but then Maeve started walking towards it and he immediately dived to the right behind one of the trees. He quickly shifted a bit further along so he could view what she was doing, and no doubt the other two were behind her somewhere. He crouched down next to another tree and now he had a good view on what they were doing. However he was unable to hear them unless they shouted.

“Are you sure this is his?” Maeve turned around, looking at Eric for an answer.

“Open it, that’s the only way to find out.” Eric asked, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t want to look like a fool if it wasn’t, or worse if they opened the tent and some random person was sleeping inside.

Maeve hesitated, wondering if it was the right thing to do. She looked back at Aimee, as if for approval, and once she nodded back to her Maeve looked back at the tent and reached for the zip on the tent. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. She opened up the zip slowly, and glanced inside as she opened it halfway. Once she saw no one was inside she swiftly unzipped it all the way.

“It’s Otis’.” Maeve said, shocked. 

Inside was his well known striped coat on the floor, scrunched up along with some of his belongings like his backpack and his stash of food and drink. He had more than enough to survive, but Maeve hated that he had lowered himself to this level, and she still had no idea why. Neither did Aimee or Eric but when they took a look inside they too knew that it was Otis’.

“Why is he doing this to himself.” Eric said to himself, but he wouldn’t have complained if he got an answer.

“We have to wait until he gets back.” Maeve demanded.

“No, Maeve.” Aimee declared. “He doesn’t want you to find him, and if you stay here he won’t return because you’re here. He wants to be hidden, and you need to catch him off guard.”

Eric and Maeve looked at Aimee. She smiled proudly when she realised they were looking at her because she was right. They talked a little bit about what they could do to surprise Otis and give him no option but to give up with what he was doing, and this time it was them that were creating a plan instead of Otis. Eventually, they agreed on certains terms and would make sure that this would work out for the best for everyone involved.

“Why can’t Otis just speak to us!” Eric shouted. They agreed to speak very loudly in case Otis was doing the same as he did at Brown’s - hiding but was able to see them.

“It’s not his tent, we need to keep searching!” Maeve also shouted, zipping the tent back up.

“Yeah, ignore this one now!” Aimee continued the trend, and started to walk off which caused Eric and Maeve to do the same.

Soon, they were out of sight and he returned to his tent after a couple minutes to make sure they weren’t watching him. He quickly got in and shut it, focusing on the next part to his plan, and where to be or meet the trio next. He knew now that Maeve would bring the other two with her if he tried to directly contact her so he tried to come up with something to include all of them. He thought for a fair amount of time, and finally came up with something that he would carry out tomorrow, but for now he had his laptop that he had snuck out of the house and into his tent for a bit of entertainment. He sighed, pleased with himself that he could find all this out, and that his close ones cared about him and he was confident that he would be able to see his plan work to the very end, unaware that it was all about to come crashing down...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter on this story, I wonder what the trio's plan was...


	4. Failing With a Good Consequence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if I'll write for a short while, thinking of taking a break now and then possibly start writing after Christmas, but I've said this before and I've continued but I'll leave it here in case you wonder where I've gone if I do disappear.
> 
> Hope this is worth the read, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this 'short story' even if it is 10k+ words!

Otis awoke the next day and almost refused to get up. He stayed in his lousy airbed for about 15 minutes before he reluctantly pulled back the blanket he had and got changed for another day of being hidden. He’d be lying if he said the nights weren’t cold, and he wondered whether he had all the information he needed as he was really missing the warmth of his house. However, his stubbornness and loyalty to his plan meant that he refused anything that went against it. He looked over the plan he set up a few days ago and today was when he tested his mother. Of course she would care about him, but for some reason Otis’ previous irrational thinking meant that he found it difficult to think that anyone cared for his well being.

He left the tent shortly after for a quick look over school as break was fast approaching, but he wasn’t dressed in disguise as he was going to watch from a distance this time with his binoculars. He made his way to the edge of school, taking in the nature that surrounded him which put a smile on his face and soon enough he arrived at the infamous Moordale school. He positioned himself so that he could see most of the school, on the side of the car park, and luckily no one could see him. He got his binoculars out without making too much noise and scouted the area looking to see what people were doing. He wasn’t testing this time, it was more of a check up to see that those he had tested weren’t harming or hurting. He at the benches first and no one of interest was seated so his glance swiftly changed to the same wall where he heard those closest to him speak, but a few bushes blocked his view of some of the people behind - he could just figure out a distinct figure but was unable to identity them.

He looked elsewhere on campus and still he couldn’t find Maeve, Eric or Aimee. He wanted to see if they were with anyone else who may know that he was ‘missing’ as his job would be harder if they had. He waited patiently for about 5 minutes, keeping his eyes forward until he saw them. He brought his binoculars back up to his eyes and viewed them, and even though he couldn’t hear them over the racket that the other students were making, he paid close attention in order to gain a hint at what they could possibly talking about. They were all gathering round what seemed like one piece of paper, discussing and agreeing with something and Otis was immediately confused. He tried to fixate his vision at what was on that paper, and initially he had been able to see that it looked like it wasn’t a letter or a piece of writing as the ink seemed to be all over the place - again Otis was just more confused. Soon enough, the trio left the area as the bell rang and Otis was left to ponder of what they were possibly talking about. Maybe he would never know.

He then went back to the tent, not really satisfied with how his morning went and quickly opened his laptop, which was low on charge. He watched a few videos and an episode of one his favourite shows before he realised that the proposed time he had selected to test his mum had long gone and he scolded himself for not realising it. To rub salt in the wound, his laptop died moments later leaving him isolated in the tent with nothing but his thoughts. Even though he felt he had lost his chance now that it was after school had finished, he packed his bag quickly and ran towards his own house ready to put his next plan into action. Once he arrived he quickly dislodged his backpack from his shoulders and almost swung it round as he lay on the top of the small hill through the trees so he could see his house. He opened it to try and find his binoculars again but since he tried to leave so quickly, he forgot them and he facepalmed harder than he should’ve done because it hurt him a little bit.

“Aaah.” Otis whispered violently to himself, rubbing his nose a little as it still stung a small amount. “Fucking idiot.”

He got up quickly and almost sprinted all the way back to his tent, so much that he basically collapsed onto his airbed to gain back the breath he had lost without closing the tent back up. He drank a little bit of the water bottles he had in the tent and searched around for his binoculars, but to his surprise, he couldn’t find them. He moved his clothes, his food, even his bed but yet again he couldn’t find them. He sat back up and tried to look over everything again, but he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Looking for these?” 

Otis turned around instantly with wide eyes and left his jaw to hang when he saw who was behind him and holding his beloved binoculars.

“Thought you were. You have some serious explaining to do.” Eric was angry, but also a little bit happy that Otis was fine.

“I…” Otis began but couldn’t finish.

“Tell me right now why you thought this was a good idea.” Eric threw the binoculars back into the tent. Otis was petrified seeing Eric like this and knew it was best to concede to him.

“I just wanted to know.” Otis said, sighing and closing his eyes. 

“Know what.” Eric responded, still quite hostile.

“If people cared.” Otis was quiet, still frightened.

“Are you for real.” Eric glared at him. “Of course people fucking care about you. It made us more angry that you wouldn’t let us talk to you.”

“I’m sorry.” Otis finally looked at him and Eric was shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well that’s not good enough right now. You’re going to fix all of what you’ve created, starting with Maeve.” 

Eric signalled for Maeve to come over, who was standing with Aimee further back and behind a bush. They had seen Otis come back and a wave of relief washed over them, but Maeve did feel some anger too. Aimee wasn’t angry as such, she was just agitated at the effect of Otis’ ‘disappearance’ had on Maeve and Eric. Maeve began making her way over with Aimee, who would soon step back with Eric to allow Maeve to speak to Otis on her own. Meanwhile, Otis just sat down, rubbing his eyes and his cheeks ready for the storm that was going to come his way. Maeve came into his view and he looked at her whilst she looked at him for a brief moment before looking down. She stopped when she could see all of him and just stared.

“I’ll leave you to him.” Eric whispered to her.

Maeve stood outside for a few more moments.just watching him, and since she didn’t say anything he assumed he would have to say something first, so he did.

“I’m sorry, Maeve.” Otis said, regretfully.

Maeve quickly went into the tent and almost jumped onto him which caught him by surprise, but he lay down with her legs either side of him so he had nowhere to go or to move. She started punching his arms with tears streaming down her face, and he brought his arms up to try and block her punches from hitting his body.

“Fuck you!” Maeve shouted, still crying and he just about understood what she said. “Why the fuck would you do that to us!”

“Ow! Stop!” Otis pleaded.

“Why the fuck…. Why….” Maeve said, quieter now but she was still crying, unable to speak through all of her emotion. She lay over him with her head to his left, looking away from him and letting all her tears out.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Otis was quiet too, since her ear was quite close to him. To Otis’ surprise, she moved her left arm and hooked it round his neck. Otis wasn’t sure what to do so he just kept still. “I thought no one cared about me.”

“Of course we fucking care about you, you idiot.” Maeve said, getting a little frustrated. So much, in fact, that she tightened the grip on her arm which was around Otis’ neck.

“Maeve…” Otis said, struggling to say her name as he could hardly breathe. Maeve loosened her grip but didn’t say anything. She just wanted to hold him tight, she missed him too much over the past few days even if he had annoyed her so much with his silence and his disappearance.

“I’m sor-” Otis began, but Maeve cut him off.

“Did you mean what you said.” Maeve said, still not moving.

“What?”

“The letter, voicemail, transcript whatever you want to call it.”

“Of course I meant it.” Otis looked up at the roof of his tent.

“Tell the truth.” Maeve said, not believing him. She thought that he was only saying that to make her feel worse since he had returned her coldness when they met in the corridor earlier that week.

“I do mean it, Maeve.”

“Tell me then.” Maeve finally moved her head so that she was looking at him. He could see her eyes were red and a few tears were still falling but she wasn’t crying as much as she was a few moments ago.

“I am proud of you, and I do love you.” Otis said, wondering if his words had penetrated her protective shell. Luckily, they had, and she brought her head down ever so slightly to lean her forehead onto his.

“I’m happy you’re safe, but fuck. Never do what you did again.” Maeve said between sniffles.

“I won’t, I’m sorry.” Otis said, leaning his forehead more into Maeve’s. He was surprised that she had initiated this position but was thankful because she indeed did want him to be okay, as did Eric and in his mind presumably Aimee too. Maeve sighed with relief, and leant further and kissed him with her hand on his cheek. It wasn’t a peck but neither a make out session. Just one to tell Otis that she loved him too, even if she couldn’t say it with words right now. After a few seconds she went back to her previous position of hugging round his neck, except now Otis had his arms around her back to hug her too. Maeve had stopped crying now, and Otis was happy that she wasn’t. He hated seeing that.

“I can't apologise enough for everything I’ve done to you.” Otis shut his eyes and held onto her tighter.

“I know.” Maeve put her head next to Otis so her forehead was leaning onto his temple and she kissed his cheek. “You need a shower.”

Otis chuckled and Maeve did the same, and they realised how much they had missed these moments since the chain of events that was caused by Maeve telling him how she felt about him, which seemed like months ago now.

“Come on, I’ll take you home.” Maeve got off him and sat next to him to allow him to sit back up. He started packing his bag with his stuff again - including the now flat airbed - and even though it was a tight squeeze, everything managed to fit after a couple attempts at zipping it up. Maeve laughed as she saw him try and he looked slightly annoyed so she leant in and kissed him briefly again. He smiled at her when they pulled away, and she grabbed onto his arm as she got up which forced him to do the same. Aimee and Eric weren’t far away from them 

“The Maeve Wiley Magic, huh.” Eric said with a smile.

“Shut up.” Maeve said, playfully.

“Yes madam.” Eric joked back.

“He explained it all, he was just being stupid as usual.” Maeve half-joked, because they all knew he was being stupid yet the ‘as usual’ part was just a small skittish part.

“Thanks.” Otis said, sarcastically after he realised what Maeve said.

“She’s right though, you know it.” Aimee’s seriousness was the most they had in the conversation.

“Yeah… I’m sorry to you too, Aimee. I didn’t think you’d come with Maeve and Eric when they asked you to.”

“You knew?” Aimee showed her confusion.

“If he saw you with us when he ran away yesterday he could’ve put two and two together.” Eric said, laughing a little.

“That’s right, but I also heard you speaking a couple days ago too. I was that guy in the hoodie that wasn’t far away from you.” Otis laughed at how pleased he was with himself that his disguise worked that day.

“You were stalking us?” Eric shouted, but not with much anger.

“Kind of?” Otis wasn’t really sure, but he did see where Eric was coming from.

“Creep.” Maeve said, kissing his cheek. She was still holding onto his arm.

“Um, what?” Eric’s eyes lit up at Maeve’s action. He wasn’t aware that Maeve liked him the same way as he did in that letter. Maybe she didn’t and Eric was just imagining that she did that. He really couldn’t tell at this point.

“What?” Maeve was now the confused one. Didn’t he know that she loved Otis back? He was there yesterday when they read the letter Otis left, right?

“You… kissed him on the cheek.” Eric started smiling.

“Well he said he loves me so…” Maeve wasn’t really sure how to finish that sentence. Otis looked at her with hope expecting her to continue.

“And you love him back?!” Eric’s smile grew even larger. Maeve looked everywhere but at the three people around her, trying to come up with an excuse to not say it at this moment.

“I think her silence is a yes.” Aimee teased, and Maeve gave her best friend a death stare for a brief moment to which Aimee laughed at.

“Well?” Otis prodded, eager for her to say whatever was on her mind.

“I don’t know.” Maeve bit her nail with her free hand as she was holding onto him with the other. She then spoke very quietly. “Yes.”

Otis smiled, and Aimee and Eric had the same reaction of a small squeal as they had now both confessed their love for each other. Otis cupped her jaw and this time he initiated the kiss which left Maeve smiling when they pulled away, and rather than holding onto him she hugged him and put her hands just underneath where his bag was.

“That shower that I talked about, needs to happen.” Maeve said, laughing slightly again.

“It will.” Otis said, kissing her forehead.

“I love you two together already.” Aimee said, smiling at them.

“Together?” They said at the same time, looking at Aimee. Once they heard each other say the same thing they looked back into each other’s eyes and smiled a little.

“We haven’t talked about that.” Otis said, still hugging her.

“I… I uh.” Maeve started but again, she was unsure of how to finish it.

“Here, I’ll do it for you.” Eric smiled mischievously at them. “Otis wants to be Maeve’s boyfriend, Maeve wants to be Otis’ girlfriend. Sorted.”

“He’s not wrong on my side.” Otis confessed, almost refusing to look away from Maeve.

“Neither.” Maeve smiled and rose to kiss him again, but this one was much longer than the other ones they had previously and now Maeve had her arms round his neck. It was all they had wished for, for so long too, and now they had made it. 

Soon after, Otis took down his tent and folded it so that he could carry it with his free hand as the other one was occupied with Maeve’s. Eric and Aimee both respectively returned to their homes once Maeve insisted she would be fine and that Otis would be under strict surveillance to prevent him from running away from them again, and Maeve agreed to take Otis home to see his mother. The walk there was everything they had missed about each other, good conversations, making each other feel better and just being there for each other. They lacked that so much when it got complicated with Ola, and they were so thankful that it had returned to the days before the complications, yet it was better now as they were finally in a relationship with the one they love. Before they knew it, they arrived at Otis’ house and made their way down to the front door.

“You can go now if you want.” Otis said, just before he was about to knock on the door.

“I don’t want to leave.” Maeve said, sternly and stepping closer to him.

“I don’t want you to feel pressured into-” Otis started.

“I’m not, I want to be here.” Maeve grabbed his cheeks and kissed him to let him know she wasn’t leaving.

“Ok.” Otis smiled and knocked on the door.

Jean opened the door and was surprised, relieved, shocked, happy. It’s safe to say she was feeling a lot of different emotions, but she immediately rushed forward and engulfed her son in a huge hug, tighter than the one Maeve had given him earlier. Otis hugged back just as hard once he dropped the folded tent he had in his hands, and Maeve was left to watch the encounter with a smile on her face.

“Where did you go? And why?!” Jean screamed, and it was understandable to. She had been worried sick the past few days, wondering if she was ever going to see her precious son again and dreading any sort of news that would tell her that he was dead but fortunately he was here, and she was hugging him.

I’ll explain everything later.” Otis said, not willing to go into loads of detail right now.

“Thank god you’re okay.” Jean refused to let go until she spotted Maeve a few feet to the side of him. “Who’s this?”

“Oh, this is Maeve. She’s my um, friend.” Otis said, uncomfortably. He was still unsure of what to call themselves even though they seemed to have dealt with it earlier. Jean sensed something was wrong, reinforced by the fact that Maeve cutely chuckled at Otis’ awkwardness.

“I assume the word ‘girl’ is supposed to be in front of ‘friend’.” Jean raised an eyebrow at him knowing the answer. Otis looked at Maeve, almost for confirmation.

“Yeah, um, I’m his girlfriend…” Maeve said, quite shyly.

“Well, It’s lovely to meet you…” Jean paused. “I must apologise, what was your name again?”

“Maeve.”

“I see, lovely to meet you Maeve.” Jean stepped forward and hugged her son’s girlfriend which caught Maeve off guard, but soon enough she hugged her back, finally wondering if she had found her family, since her blood family had let her down everytime they returned without fail. Jean let her go and smiled at her before she returned into her house with the tent that Otis had dropped, leaving them with a line just before she went.

“Otis, you need to take a shower. That stench is awful.”

“Mum!” Otis’ frustration was evident but Jean had already gone inside.

“See, I’m not the only one.” Maeve said, walking up to him and kissing him. She didn’t care about the smell too much, she loved him no matter what.

They went inside, following Jean, and Otis was forced to have that illustrious shower that he so desperately needed. The change in freshness he had was ridiculous, and Otis felt better than he had all week, but of course it would’ve done anyway as he was able to call Maeve his girlfriend. Maeve ended up staying for a long time, and helped out with the explanation that Otis gave his mum on why he disappeared. Jean couldn’t understand why Otis had done what he did but she hoped he wouldn’t do something similar in the future and that she would always be able to contact him in one way or another. 

Maeve’s first dinner with Jean went better than expected, and it was much more comfortable as Maeve had got to know Jean a little bit when they were talking whilst Otis was in the shower, and it made things feel like a happy family, like the one Maeve should’ve had all her life. It was incredible the difference between the two, and also her happiness from a couple weeks ago to today. She was incredibly joyful now that she had Otis and a developing motherly figure to look up to.

Otis even asked Maeve to stay overnight during dinner, and Jean agreed for her to be able to - even encouraging it. She made it her mission to make sure Maeve was comfortable in her house, especially after she heard her current living conditions and the only ones she’s ever known. Once it was late, Maeve almost dragged Otis upstairs, holding his hand and leading the way to his bedroom as he directed her. She pushed him onto the bed and hopped on top to straddle him, bringing her hands up to grasp his cheek as she passionately kissed him. He held her tight just like he did in the tent and once they parted they stayed close, gazing and admiring one another. They realised they wouldn’t be able to kiss all night, so they agreed to get ready to go to sleep, and of course they were sleeping in the same one. Maeve came back from the bathroom and could see Otis stretching out all over the bed making sure he could get every bit of it. Maeve laughed at this because she knew exactly why he was doing it.

“I’ve missed this.” Otis looked at her as she approached the bed. He smiled at how beautiful she looked.

“I know.” Maeve got in bed but faced him so she could stare at him.

“It’s so comfy, not like that airbed I had to deal with.” Otis tried burying his face even more into his pillow if that was possible.

“That was your own fault.” Maeve cocked an eyebrow, as if to tell him off a little bit.

“Yeah…” Otis reached over and put some of her hair behind her ears. “I missed you.”

“Me too.” Maeve gave him a peck and rolled over, reluctantly having to look away from him. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, I love you.” Otis said whilst he put his arm over Maeve and she grabbed it to pull him closer to her so that he was spooning her. She waited a couple moments, debating whether she should say it, but he meant it and she would mean it too, so she decided to blurt it out (directly this time) before they both smiled and drifted off into a sleep that would see them wake up happier than ever the next morning.

“I love you too, dickhead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to drop any suggestions that you want to see me write, but I can't promise that I will write all of them. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this!

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter out midweek most likely!
> 
> If you want me to write any of your ideas, don't hesitate to comment them!


End file.
